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Our Development Blueprint highlights the fact that universities of education are commonly found in Asia and Europe. The creation of a Hong Kong University of Education is thus consistent with local, national and international practices in higher education; where universities with a distinctive focus on teacher education complement comprehensive universities.
Learning first hand from the experiences of other universities of education, a high level Institute delegation visited Japan and Korea from late October to early November.
The visits, amongst other missions, is helping to pave the way for the organisation of HKIEd’s upcoming inaugural Asian Roundtable of Presidents of Universities of Education, to be held in May 2009. This unique event will bring leaders of major universities, institutes of education and normal universities together at the HKIEd, to exchange views on nurturing quality teachers, supporting their lifelong learning needs and fostering collaborations in Asia and beyond. |
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During their five-day visit, the delegation visited three universities – Tokyo Gakugei University, Aichi University of Education (AUE) and Osaka Kyoiku University (OKU).
On 30 October 2008, we signed an agreement with OKU with regard to student exchanges and academic collaboration; and on the last day, the delegation visited the Tokyo Gakugei University. The AUE visit strengthened the agreement, signed with the University in May 2008. |
| The universities of education in Japan share similarities in their history and background with the HKIEd. Founded in 1949, Osaka Kyoiku University (OKU) was established with the consolidation of three normal schools in the area. The origins of these schools date back as far as 1874. OKU’s primary mission is to foster qualified professionals in school education, while also developing and creating the knowledge and skills relevant to education. It offers a number of Master’s programmes, helping to realise the goal of life-long learning. |
At Tokyo Gakugei University’s Culture Festival, a student sketches the portrait of Professor Anthony Cheung. |
The history of Aichi University of Education (AUE) can be traced back to the Aichi Prefectural Academy, which was set up in 1873. In 1949, all normal schools in the Aichi area were consolidated to form Aichi Gakugei University, with the name AUE being adopted in 1966. AUE provides four types of teacher training programmes – primary education, secondary education, special support education, and school nursing and health education. In addition to its Contemporary Liberal Arts and Sciences Programmes, AUE provides an all-round education based on liberal arts education principles as well as an emphasis on specialist general education.
Tokyo Gakugei University (TGU) is a national university in Koganei, Tokyo. With a history that can be traced to 1873, it was formally chartered as a university in 1949, through the amalgamation of four normal schools. TGU established a Graduate School in 1966 and, as part of a coalition of educational institutions in Japan, has offered doctoral studies in the field of education since 1996. Teacher education aside, thousands of students also study Liberal Arts at the University.
The delegation also explored opportunities to collaborate with the Japanese Society of Study of Teacher Education. A seminar was organised by the Society to provide an overview of teacher education in Japan, with speakers coming from Tokyo Gakugei University, Meiji University and Seikei University. At the seminar, we gave an account of the current education system and teacher education environment in Hong Kong, as well as the many future challenges ahead.
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The three-day trip to Korea covered The Korea National University of Education and Seoul National University of Education. During the visit, President Cheung presented the HKIEd’s plans to develop the Institute into a University of Education to his counterparts, together with our international collaboration initiatives, with their many important activities to benefit teacher education and the education community in the Asia Pacific Region.
The Korea National University of Education was established in 1984 as the first national university of education, becoming the leading teacher education institute in the country. It is considered unique, as the university educates kindergarten, primary and secondary school teachers, as well as a large number of graduate students. It also provides continuous teacher education and conducts comprehensive educational research.
The Seoul National University of Education (SNUE) was founded in 1946. Formerly known as Kyunggi Public Regular School, it became SNUE in 1993. It is the first national university to specialise in elementary school teacher training, with an attached primary school which serves as an experimental research school for effective teaching practices and performance policies for the Ministry of Education.
The visits concluded with the signing of an agreement between The Korea National University of Education and the HKIEd on 5 November 2008. |
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